The frigate HMS Cumberland has picked up 207 people including 68 British nationals from Benghazi and is due to arrive in Malta tonight, where evacuees can pick up flights to the UK.

The FCO in London said it had taken more than 1,000 calls in the past 24 hrs from either British nationals wanting to leave Libya, or from family and colleagues in the UK.

Some 25 specialist extra Foreign Office staff have been sent to reinforce teams in Malta and Libya, and the FCO has also helped nationals from about 25 other countries to leave Libya.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The security and wellbeing of British nationals is our absolute priority.

"We are doing all we can to get them out of Libya, drawing on both military and commercial assets, as well as working with international partners.

"Our priority is ensuring British nationals can leave Libya as quickly and as safely as soon as possible."

Among the Britons to have been evacuated was a woman who was airlifted with her newborn baby by an Irish government Learjet.

Eyewitness

Time goes slowly when you're stuck in a country in turmoil, writes an anonymous oil worker based on the outskirts of Tripoli.

Mobile communications have been down for several days now, and the internet is sporadic at best.

We have been depending on a generator for much of our electricity, so have managed to keep a semblance of normal life ongoing.

We have enough supplies to last for two months, but fresh food and bread are luxuries we shall have to wait for. At night we sit and worry about our colleagues in other parts of the country, wondering whether they are safe.

Some of you may be wondering why I'm still here. Well, the reason is simple. I have four men still stuck in the desert, and I won't be leaving the country until they have been safely evacuated.

Mr Cameron has apologised for the speed of the government's response and said lessons would be learned from it.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "There is a worrying whiff of incompetence about the way this government is handling this issue, and it's become a pattern with this government about the way decisions are made and the way things are handled.

"Frankly, I think Mr Cameron has got to get a grip on the way this Government works."

'Opportunity for change'

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The prime minister updated the president on his trip to the Middle East, stressing the importance of seizing this moment of opportunity for change in the region.

"The leaders discussed Libya and agreed to work together closely on the swift evacuation of nationals. They also agreed to co-ordinate on possible multilateral measures on Libya, including at the UN Human Rights Council on Monday."

The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Baroness Ashton, said the bloc was considering sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, to "put as much pressure as possible" on Libya to stop the violence.

Foreign Office helplines

UK nationals in Libya wishing to get on the charter flights are advised to call 020 7008 0000 from the UK or 021 340 3644/45 from Libya

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